NEW YORK - US stocks closed higher in a choppy session on Monday as hopes for a Covid-19 vaccine lifted economically sensitive sectors such as energy and industrials, but a pullback in megacap shares curbed gains on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
"It's Monday vaccine trade day," said Ken Polcari, managing partner at Kace Capital Advisors in Jupiter, Florida. "A known commodity in an uncertain situation is a potential boon for the market," said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Evidence of high efficacy rates in experimental Covid-19 vaccines had lifted the S&P 500 to a record high this month and brought the blue-chip Dow close to breaching 30,000 points for the first time, breathing new life into cyclical stocks that were beaten down during the recession.
Sentiment was dented by new lockdowns to contain a surge in coronavirus infections. Nevada on Sunday tightened curbs on casinos, restaurants and bars, while imposing a broader mandate for face-coverings over the next three weeks.